Anything but Perfect
by LegendsGuardian
Summary: His family life may have appeared to the outside world as a typical modern one, but to the Ronin'Trooper in question it was anything but. What happens when pressure takes its toll? Songfic


**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters mentioned in this story, they are the sole property of their creators (Sunrise/Naogya TV/Bandai).

The song "Pieces" belongs to and is copyrighted by Sum 41; I'm just borrowing it to add the right 'mood' to this one-shot.

**Summary:** His family life may have appeared to the outside world as a typical modern one, but to the Ronin/Trooper in question it was anything but. What happens when pressure takes its toll?

**Key:**  
"text" dialogue in speaker's native or commonly preferred language (in this case Japanese)

'_text '_ thoughts/thought-speak

_A/N: I'm taking some liberties with this, because mainly you have to be bilingual/trilingual in almost every country in order to get anywhere. Since English is the langue franca of the word (that is most predominate language) it isn't that hard to assume that the Ronins, though natives to Japan (the exception being Kento who's parents are Chinese immigrants), would know English. Since they all live in Japan they are more often to speak their native tongue than English, unless they're around people who speak it; mind you this is just my take on the matter. _

"Anything but Perfect"

By: LG

His thoughts strayed back to happenings that had transpired maybe a few months or so beforehand, and a frown tugged at the corners of his mouth as the conversations kept replaying themselves.

Oh yes, twenty-years-old and a relatively simple life now, but it had not always been this way…Up until a few months ago, things had been hectic and to an extent suffocating, but he had changed all that.

A sigh escaped his lips as he ran a hand through his disheveled hair, eyes suddenly snapping over to the window as he caught a flash of lightning going off in the distance.

He was in a rather melancholic mood, and it seemed that the weather was not going to help matters.

_I tried to be perfect  
But nothing was worth it  
I don't believe it makes me real_

He slumped down in the over-stuffed chair, inside his barely furnished apartment, reaching over to the end table and grasping a glass filled with a light-brown liquid. He idly twirled it in his hands, leaning his head back trying to relax and forget the current weight on his mind.

The thunder cracked closer than it had five minutes ago, and it was followed by another flash, which caused the lights to cut out completely.

"Perfect," He murmured aloud, "Now I can brood in the dark."

'_Now, now,' _the little voice in the back of his mind ridiculed, _'Not starting to feel guilty are we?'_

"Outrageous accusation," He mumbled, but the more the former Ronin Warrior thought about it, the more sense it made. He had, more or less, thrown his family for a loop while telling them off at the same time, hadn't he?

_I thought it'd be easy  
But no one believes me  
I meant all the things I said_

Suddenly he was thrown into a flashback of the events that had transpired not more than four months ago, events that had outright shocked his family and left his friends speechless.

Sage pulled up to the family dojo, quickly putting his car into park. The young man had just gotten off of work, and had put his rusty race-car driving skills to use in order to reach home in time.

He was to be teaching lessons at four o'clock this evening, and his grandfather always liked him to be at least thirty to thirty-five minutes early. For what reason, the blonde swordsman had yet to figure out, but he suspected it was only another way to try his ever thinning patience.

_If you believe it's in my soul  
I'd say all the words that I know  
Just to see if it would show  
That I'm trying to let you know  
That I'm better off on my own_

In his youth he had been quite rebellious, and had a temper that made Ryo's seem like a muted cry, but his grandfather had taught him restraint, as well as how to control his anger and the true ways of a _bushido_ warrior.

Now that Sage was older, he was starting to tire of having to uphold the family name and honor without so much as one compliment, or one sign of approval from anyone.

But in a typical household that was raised in the old ways such things were common. It didn't help that he looked like a _gaijin_, the only one in his family to not look ethnic Japanese, and because of this he had been raised to act as true to his breeding as possible.

If it weren't for his friends those he considered real family? He might have continued to go through life appearing cold and uncaring, features schooled to always look calm, and actions to reflect what had been drilled into him.

However, the other Ronins had managed to break through to him, had taught him that he could conform to society yet still be who he really was on the inside, and not the programmed machine he had been brought up to be.

_This place is so empty  
My thoughts are so tempting  
I don't know how it got so bad_

The former Ronin of Halo slipped off his shoes outside the door, then slid the _shoji_ back and stepped inside.

Quiet murmurings reached his ears, and he quickly identified the voices as belonging to his eldest sister, Yayoi, and his mother.

"Has Grandfather told him yet?"

"Yayoi, it is little concern of yours. I just know Seiji isn't going to like this in the least. Also, I want for you to stop antagonizing him." A voice sharply rebuked her, filled with agitation and stern warning.

"Mother…" It was obvious the young woman wasn't pleased with the answer.

"I meant it, out with you now. Class will be starting soon, you should go prepare."

---------

Sage hesitated in the hall for a minute, if his mother had called him by his formal name something was definitely up. It had always been his first warning to when something was going on, and it still was.

'_What has Grandfather gotten me into this time?'_

Panic filled him for the briefest of moments, could it be that the elder Date was going to press the issue of him having a job away from the dojo?

The old man had begrudgingly agreed with his mother and father that there was a need for him to have a job away from home, that it would do everyone good.

Grandfather Date had wanted Sage to take over the dojo right away; oh they all knew that no one said it aloud though there were some things you could say aloud in the household and other things were better left unmentioned. So when the young Halo Ronin had taken a job with a corporate business in the city, his grandfather had not been pleased.

Sage let out a sigh, as if the old man was ever pleased with him…How he envied the other Ronins, they didn't have to deal with this.

Rowen's parents were divorced and rarely around, and when they were they didn't try to impose their way of life on him. True his father was a tad disappointed that his genius son did not want to be in the same field of study as him, but he wasn't outright disapproving of it at least not to Sage's knowledge.

Cye's father had passed on when the Water Ronin was young, leaving him to be raised by his mother and older sister. The former bearer of Torrent was both loved and adored by the two women, even if his older sister never wanted to outright admit her affection for him.

Kento had the largest family, and perhaps one of the most caring. While the young Chinese man's parents had a knack for being strict, you could never wish for more tender-hearted and genuinely kind people.

Ryo's mother had died early in his childhood, and his father had taken him away from the clan, unappreciative of the strict order and how things were run. An act of total and complete defiance, that took a lot of courage to pull off. As for the whereabouts of the older Sanada, it was unsure. Rumors of his death had circulated that he had died in Africa after a lion attack; however, money was still being deposited in the bank to keep the former Ronin leader from going into debt.

Yes…Yes he most definitely envied them for that, more than half the time Sage felt like an outcast in his own home and that feeling was becoming unbearable for him.

_Sometimes it's so crazy  
That nothing can save me  
But it's the only thing that I have_

"Mother," Sage kept all emotion out of his voice, "What is it that I won't like?"

The woman paled, an unusual sight to see considering that she was the typical deeply tanned skinned oriental, "I…I didn't hear you come in."

He quirked a golden eyebrow at her, immediately understanding that she was going to try and skirt around the issue, "What has he done this time?"

"You should show more respect for those older than you Seiji," Yayoi told him in a chiding tone, sticking her head back into the room.

Mrs. Date scowled, "Did I not tell you to mind yourself? I did not raise my daughter to be vindictive to her younger siblings. In any case, Sage," She turned back and looked at him strictly, "You will have to talk with your grandfather, yourself."

His violet eyes narrowed, as he now had a better inkling as to what was transpiring, "I will. But if he expects me to marry someone he chooses and right now, he can forget about it."

With that he spun on his heel, having quickly gathered from both women's reactions to his statement that this was _exactly _what he wouldn't like.

_If you believe it's in my soul  
I'd say all the words that I know  
Just to see if it would show…_

When you were good, you were good, and Seiji Date was no fool when it concerned the old ways. Having been raised on them throughout the twenty-years of his life, he was to expect things of this nature, and as the good obedient heir to the family name he was expected to take them without asking questions.

Not today…Not anymore, after having to deal with the intense and insane pressure the past six months had placed on him, he had officially had it and he was going to let them know.

He would rather fight Talpa a hundred times over than continue to bare this weighted burden on his shoulders. He walked into the room his grandfather was in, making sure to wait for proper acknowledgement, deciding to let the elder Date have his say, before he had his.

_That I'm trying to let you know  
That I'm better off on my own_

Sage had listened to everything, knowing he had been told what was going to happen and that it would not require any comment on his part.

It was hard to say who was more surprised, his grandfather, or himself, when he said as clear and calmly as possible, "No."

"Are you questioning my authority?" Grandfather Date demanded with a barely detectable hint of annoyance in his tone.

But Sage had distinguished it, and now saw an opening…If his grandfather was already irritated, it wouldn't take much to get him fully aggravated.

"No," He courteously replied, "I'm telling you."

_On my own_

_I tried to be perfect  
It just wasn't worth it  
Nothing could ever be so wrong_

After the heated argument that had ensued, and having been threatened that he would be disowned, Sage had calmly told his grandfather everything on his mind, every single feeling and thought he had since he was capable of having them and knowing what they were.

The former Ronin also had the satisfaction of knowing that his parents and sisters had heard every word, for he had heard four pairs of rushing feet after the shouting had begun.

Normally Grandfather Date, never lost his temper, but the man was starting to feel his age, and his patience was not what it had been.

Sage had quickly wrapped up his speech by saying, "Disown me Grandfather, for I have been led to believe I am no heir and never will be. I have never been good enough for any of you, and I am eternally sorry that I did not turn out to be the ideal grandson you prayed for."

_It's hard to believe me  
It never gets easy  
I guess I knew that all along_

Without another word and without waiting for a response from anyone, Sage had walked back out of the house slipped into his shoes, and left in his car at the same speed he had pulled into the driveway.

The lights came back on, bringing the young man out of his reminiscing and into the present once more.

He gently put the glass back down, and proceeded to stretch noting that he had been sitting idle for over an hour. That very rarely happened, unless it was for meditation purposes.

Since that evening at the dojo, he had heard from Satsuki, his youngest sister, and she had rambled on about how impressed and stunned she was that he had actually stood up to Grandfather.

His mother and father had also called to apologize saying that they hadn't realized he had ever felt that way, and why hadn't he told them before? Amends had been made on that end.

A chuckle escaped him now, remembering how his four friends, his brothers-in-arms, had reacted when he had told them at one of their normal weekend get-togethers.

Rowen had choked on his soda, Cye had merely gaped, Kento lightened by two or three shades, and Ryo came very close to falling out of his chair. At this, he did the only thing he could have done at the time he laughed at them.

As for Grandfather Date, as his mother had implied (and the woman never implied or hinted at anything unless she was sure it was absolutely true)…Well, needless to say Satsuki was not the only one impressed that Sage had gone so far to stand against "the Old Dragon" and actually hold his own without outside help. Though, the old bushido warrior would be caught dead before he admitted that aloud.

"Yes," The former Halo Ronin murmured, "Hard to believe that I would actually go against everything I've been taught. But I didn't do that, I only spoke of what I wanted and needed. Just because it may have been best for the family, didn't mean it would have been the best for me. I don't care how good arranged marriages normally work; I fought everything this world has thrown at me so far. After all of that, I think I'm entitled to do something for myself."

_If you believe it's in my soul  
I'd say all the words that I know  
Just to see if it would show  
That I'm trying to let you know  
That I'm better off on my own_

End

1. Bushido: it is the code of honor and behavior of the Japanese warrior class(samurai)

2. Gaijin: a foreigner among/in Japan

3.Shoji: rice paper screen in a wooden frame, commonly used as a sliding door/partition in traditional Japanese houses

_A/N: This is what boredom leads to, as well as being stuck in-between a rock and a hard place on two stories you're supposed to be writing for. :-) The views expressed here are solely my own. While some writer's portray Sage/Seiji's family as a tight knit one and others as strict beyond belief, I tend to think of it more as a mix between the two. Strict on the outside, but loving underneath...Even though you have to get past fifty layers to get there. The reason I use 'former' in here is because, though this takes place after Message the Ronins have not used their new armors since acquiring them._

Thanks to everyone who reviewed this story! I really do appreciate the feedback. I went through and made the changes requested and fixed some things that weren't mentioned (but that I did miss before I put this piece up). LG


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